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The subjects of pregnancy, birth, and motherhood have proved to be one of the most fertile grounds (pardon the pun) in horror fiction in both longevity and richness. They are tropes that relishes in some of the most drastic of physical changes brought upon the human body while also confronting or affirming how our culture views women and regards the female body. These thematic and ideological questions become more complicated when translating these stories to the visual and auditory world of cinematic representations, including television.

“Frankenstein’s Army” is a found footage film about a unit of Russian soldiers who are fighting Nazis during WWII and searching for other missing Russians. Instead of finding missing soldiers they are forced to fight an army of “steampunk” monsters that have been created by Dr. Frankenstein, who apparently has been attempting to end the war by combining equal halves of communists and fascists brains.

Were you as concerned as I was that Marlon Wayans would no longer be lampooning mainstream horror alongside a cavalcade of middle-tier and lowbrow comedians? If so we can rest assured that A Haunted House heralds his triumphant return to an art form he helped craft. Well, “lampooning” may be too pointed of a word to describe what is exactly happening here. The film isn’t so much satirizing horror tropes or conventions as it utilizes stylistic elements to present infantile jokes.

On paper, “The Bay” doesn’t look like much. It’s a found footage film, and haven’t we all seen enough of those to last a lifetime? It’s also directed by Barry Levinson, a fine director but known more for movies like “Good Morning Vietnam” and “Diner” than anything horror-related. How could this movie be good?

“Playback” starts interestingly enough. A young man named Harlan Diehl walks around a country farmhouse with a video camera, filming recently slaughtered bodies (as we learn later, it’s Diehl’s adopted family being filmed and he’s the one who did the slaughtering). His camera then focuses on a little baby left untouched in the mayhem. Before we learn the reason for his murdering spree, however, he is gunned down by police officers. Would it surprise you to know that the baby survives?

It's hard to believe there have been four "Paranormal Activity" films. Even in the year 2012, where sequels and spinoffs are commonplace, it's still unlikely that the series has made it this far. What's even more unlikely? The fact that, at least up until now, the series has maintained and even raised the bar for quality with each entry. Unfortunately, with "Paranormal Activity 4" you can throw that trend out the window.